


Lost In Translation

by Doctor_Whom



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Daniel Jackson Whump, Gen, Winter Whumperland 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 18:32:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13196073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctor_Whom/pseuds/Doctor_Whom
Summary: When SG-1 goes on a routine mission to Abydos, Daniel is the only one who can speak their language. This leads to problems when a rogue group of Abydonians decide they want something SG-1 can't give them. When Daniel refuses to arm the rebels, they kidnap him to try to force his hand.





	Lost In Translation

A rough kick to the ribs had Daniel’s eyes flying open and gasping for breath as he curled in on himself. He was lying on the sand in the open desert, hands bound in front of him, and five men standing around him with various cruel looking weapons in their hands. He couldn’t make out any details with his eyes squinting and watering from the brightness of the sun, but he could feel the dry roughness of his throat that told him he’d been out in the elements longer than was good for him. He instinctively tried to swallow, wincing at the pain that brought, only for a slight tugging by his left eye to bring a trail of dried blood and a correlating sharp headache to his attention.

This visit to Abydos, Daniel mused, was definitely not going according to plan. He had been in the market after dark, enjoying the late night excursion before they left in the morning - no team, no uniform; just a relaxing evening where he could pretend it was years ago before his life had been flipped on its head. He’d been cutting through an alley, intending to find the shortest way back to where Jack and the rest of the team had made camp for the night, when he’d heard a sound behind him and…well, and then he’d woken up in this situation.

One of the men squatted down in front of him, blocking out the sun enough for Daniel to make out rough features and an angrily determined glint in his eyes. His captor roughly grabbed his jaw to bring Daniel’s face closer to his own.

“You are going to cooperate with us,” he said in Abydonian. “If you do not, then you answer to the sun.” He moved his head slightly so Daniel was once again blinded by the light, no doubt giving him a preview of the punishment to come should he prove to be difficult. Once the Abydonian had returned Daniel to his shadow, he spoke again.

“You have friends on this planet, friends with weapons we want.” He pulled something from out of the folds of his clothes and held it up in front of Daniel’s face. His radio. “We have seen you talking on this. You will inform your friends that they have a choice: either they give us their weapons in exchange for you…or you die. Do you understand?” He squeezed Daniel’s jaw tightly before roughly tossing it aside.

Daniel struggled to prop himself up on an elbow in the loose sand so he could look his captor in the eye.

“Yeah,” he replied in the same language, “that’s really not going to happen.”

He was expecting the hand flying towards his face, but it didn’t make the contact any more pleasant, especially when it reopened the wound by his left eye and blood started trickling down his face again. He shook his head, clearing the stars dancing in front of his eyes, before turning his gaze back to the man above him.

“Your stubbornness will only cause your more pain. If you do not help us, that pain will only increase. Perhaps you will take this more seriously once you’ve had some time to think.”

One more punch to the head had Daniel sprawling on the sand, all shade from his captors gone as they moved away, leaving him to the uncaring and burning rays of the sun.

He watched them huddle together in a group a short distance away, gesturing angrily and passing the radio back and forth between them, twisting the dials and pressing the buttons. Daniel knew they would eventually figure it out, but he also knew that even when they did, they wouldn’t be able to communicate with his team as none of them spoke Abydonian, and he was pretty sure none of his captors spoke English.

He sighed, resigned to the fact that if he had any hope of being rescued, he’d have to cooperate with his captors afterall.

“Sir, we lost Daniel…somewhere.”

The rest of SG-1 was gathered around the MALP, General Hammond’s stern face on the monitor softening with worry at the revelation that one of their teammates was missing.

“What happened, Colonel?” he asked.

“He wasn’t at camp when we woke in the morning, sir,” Jack replied, gaze shifting out over the rolling sands as if half expecting to see Daniel walking towards them any minute.

“His uniform and weapons were left behind, though,” Sam mentioned.

“Perhaps he left during the night and did not want to bring attention to himself,” Teal’c theorized.

“Well whatever happened, I’m delaying your return until you find him,” Hammond finalized. “Go get our man back.”

“Yes, General,” Jack said before cutting the connection to their link, the Stargate powering down. He turned and started walking towards the town where they had been staying, the other two falling into step beside him.

“So what’s the plan, Colonel?” Sam asked.

But before he could answer, static sounded over his radio, followed by a bout of angry shouting in what sounded like Abydonian. Jack reached to his shoulder and took out the radio, holding it out so the others could hear. Once it sounded like the person on the other end was done, Jack pressed the button on the side.

“Um, hello? Who’s this?” Releasing the button only brought more shouting and still none of it in English. “Well this is going nowhere fast,” he murmured. Then, pressing the button again: “No habla Abynodian,” which elicited an eye roll from Sam. Jack sighed, finger still on the button. “Where’s Daniel when you need him?” He released the button in frustration, intending to listen to another string of ranting, but instead heard a familiar voice.

“I’m right here, Jack,” came Daniel’s voice.

“Daniel?” asked Jack, surprised. “What’s going on? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, hi. Listen, I’ve gotten into a little bit of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Sam asked.

“Oh, you know, just your standard hostage situation. These five guys saw us in the market yesterday and sneak-attacked me when I went out last night. They say they’ll release me in exchange for our weapons.”

The three of them traded glances. They all knew they couldn’t do that.

Jack pressed the button. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Daniel, but you know that’s never going to happen.” He released the button but didn’t hear a response right away. “Daniel?”

“Don’t worry Jack, I know. They’re getting impatient and want me to tell you to meet us at the abandoned house near the edge of town with the caved in roof. They say ‘no tricks’ or else they’ll kill me.”

“We won’t let that happen, Daniel. Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of there.”

“I know. Just don’t take too long. I don’t think these guys are professional kidnappers. They seem kinda edgy and I don’t trust them to-Ack!”

“Daniel?!” Jack yelled, worry flashing in his eyes. He stared at the radio as if willing Daniel to answer. But instead he got another string of angry Abydonian that he didn’t need to speak to understand. If you don’t cooperate, your friend dies.

Jack looked back up at the two pairs of eyes staring at him, waiting for an answer.

“What do we do, Colonel?” Sam asked.

Jack thought for a minute, putting the radio back in his shoulder pocket. Then, “Just what the General said: we’re going to get him back.”

It was easy to find the house where Daniel was being held as it was one of the few structures separated from the main town. They cautiously entered through the flap of cloth used as a front door and was met with the sight of Daniel, hands bound before him, lips chapped, face red with sunburn, and blood trailing down from a wound on his temple. He was kneeling on the sand in the middle of the room where the sun was shining down through the hole in the roof. The sunlight also glinted off of the blade held against his throat and Daniel looked so exhausted that if it weren’t for the man holding him in place by his hair he would surely have collapsed.

The three of them immediately were put on edge, wanting desperately to raise their weapons, but they knew they had to remain calm lest they escalate the situation and risk Daniel getting any more injured than he already was.

“Daniel, are you alright?” asked Sam, itching to rush over with the med kit they had brought to see to his wound.

One of the Abydonian captors standing besides Daniel barked something at them they couldn’t understand. The following silence didn’t seem to please the man, so he kicked Daniel in the side, eliciting a grunt of pain from the injured man and three concerned stares from his rescuers.

Daniel straightened as best he could, breathing shallowly around his undoubtedly bruised ribs.

“He says ‘No talking to each other. You talk to me, not him’,” Daniel interpreted. Another round of Abydonian. “‘Give us your weapons or he dies’.” The knife was pulled a little closer against his throat for emphasis.

“Do they speak English at all?” asked Jack.

Daniel said something in the captors’ language and they replied.

“No they don’t, and they just said ‘No funny business or…’ well, you get the picture.”

“So then they won’t know that I’m telling you to dodge out of the way so Carter can get a clean shot of the guy with the knife.” Jack kept his eyes on the five men standing in front of him as if he were talking to them.

A short back and forth in Abydonian, and then, “Jack, we can’t just kill them. We have to find a peaceful way to solve this. Maybe give them something else instead of our weapons.”

“Daniel, they kidnapped you. We aren’t just going to let them waltz out of here with any of our gear. And what are you saying to them anyway?”

“You know, just the normal hostage negotiation stuff they’re probably expecting you to say,” Daniel replied after “interpreting” for his captors. “Now, what do we have to offer them that wouldn’t get them or anyone else blown up or shot?”

“No, Daniel, we’re not doing this,” Jack said with a calm he certainly didn’t feel but knowing he had to keep up the ruse. “Now, when I give the signal, get out of the way and-”

“Jack, no!”

Many things happened at once.

The blade dug into Daniel’s neck, drawing blood; Jack, Sam and Teal’c brought up their weapons; everyone started shouting; gunfire split the air and four of the five men went down; the remaining man, the one holding Daniel, dragged him up to standing, using him effectively as a human shield against the team’s AK-47s. There was more shouting, the team calling for the man to calm down and release Daniel, and the captor, fear shining in his eyes, shouting, probably for them to put down their weapons. Daniel seemed to agree with the man behind him, even as they backed up, reaching the rear door.

“Guys, just put your weapons down before this guy does anything stupid! You’re just making him nervous!”

“That’s not going to happen, Daniel,” Jack responded. He saw a shift in the kidnapper’s eyes and he knew what would happen a split second before it did. “Daniel!”

The knife moved from Daniel’s neck and was driven into his side. The captor pulled out the knife, rushing through the back door, leaving Daniel to sink to the floor.

Daniel felt the man shift behind him and the knife release from his neck. Before he could register what that meant, he felt a sharp, searing pain in his side. The air left his lungs, not even a sound escaping as that pain turned to numbness seeping into his core, strength sapped, his legs no longer able to support him.

He fell to the ground, the world around him muted and blurry. He heard the muffled sound of gunfire and the shape of someone large leaping past him and chasing out the door. Daniel brought his bound hands to his side, feeling warm blood trickling past his fingers, the pain starting to bloom out of the numbness.

Suddenly a face was hovering above him, at first too blurry to make out, the voice too distant to identify. But then his vision cleared a bit and Jack’s worried face swam into view, his hands covering his own over Daniel’s wound. He groaned, eyes tight with pain.

“Hang on, Daniel.” Jack’s voice sounded like it was echoing through a long corridor. “Just hang on. Sam!”

“Jack…” The words were barely a whisper.

“I’m right here, buddy. I’m here. Sam! Where’s that med kit!”

“Jack…” Daniel felt himself fading as he saw another form, Sam, come into view. His face grew lax, his hands losing their strength, slipping from his side. The pain was still there, but not as intense, not as debilitating. Distant. He welcomed that, embraced the darkness spreading over his vision, the frantic shouts of his team mates fading as he fell into oblivion.

The first thing Daniel noticed was the lack of pain. He had been in pain before, hadn’t he? And there were bad guys, where were the bad guys? Was the team okay? He slowly opened his eyes.

It was dark, the only light a soft glow from somewhere to his left, the undulation of the light and faint crackling indicating a small fire. After spending so long in the sun, first out in the desert, baking in the heat, and then kneeling in the spotlight in the abandoned house while waiting for his team to arrive, the dark was a pleasant change of pace. He blinked and his surroundings became clearer. He was still in that house, but the hole in the roof showed stars now, not sunlight.

Turning his head slightly, he saw Jack sitting next to him, asleep. He couldn’t see where Sam was, but Teal’c was by the door, looking outside, keeping watch. Daniel shifted his head again, spying a canteen to his right. He went to reach for it, throat still scratchy and dry, but a sharp tugging at his side had him grunt slightly. He saw movement by the door and then Teal’c was approaching him, kneeling by his side.

“Daniel Jackson,” he said, reaching for the canteen and bringing it to Daniel’s lips, a hand going under his head to lift it up slightly, making it easier to drink.

“Ah,” Daniel sighed when he was finished. “Thanks, Teal’c.”

“You are most welcome, Daniel Jackson,” he replied, lowering his head onto the rolled up jacket serving as his pillow. “It is good to see you awake.”

“Yeah. What…what happened? I don’t remember much after, um…” He gestured vaguely at his side.

“Your captor fled, but I pursued him. He did not escape.”

Daniel nodded. He had figured as much. If Jack hadn’t been so stubborn then maybe no one would have had to die, or get stabbed, today. But he couldn’t say he wasn’t sad that those men would never get the chance to kidnap or hurt anyone else.

“Captain Carter and Colonel O’Neill proceeded to tend to your wound.”

“Where is Sam,” he asked, still puzzled about her absence.

As if on cue to assuage his worry, she appeared at the door, a bag in one hand, her gun, with the flashlight on, in the other.

“Daniel!” she called, prompting Jack to suddenly stirr from his sleep, hands clutching his weapon in case there was a threat. He looked first at Sam and then, as she moved quickly into the room, his gaze shifted to Daniel.

The relief on his face was palpable, his posture instantly slacking as he set aside his weapon and turned to face Daniel fully.

“You got us a bit worried there for a second, Daniel,” he said, voice teasing, but he could still see the concern in his eyes. “Now, why couldn’t you have just agreed with my plan in the first place so we could have avoided all of this?”

“Sorry to inconvenience you so much, Jack,” came his snarky reply, but when his slight chuckle ignited a brief flash of pain, he winced and Jack’s face immediately became serious.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better than I expected to feel, but the hole in my side kinda stings if I move wrong.”

“Just so long as you don’t pull out your stitches you should be fine,” Sam said, having come to kneel on the other side of him, taking items out of the bag she had been carrying that looked like bandages and jars of some kind.

“How bad is it?” Daniel asked as she moved aside the blanket that was covering the lower half of his body, exposing a bandage wrapped around his middle and a pile of gauze taped on his right side. Some blood had seeped through but it wasn’t fresh.

“Well, it could have been worse,” she replied, gently prying up the gauze to expose a wound about an inch wide and sutured closed. “It missed all of your vital organs, thankfully, but it was deep and you lost a lot of blood. Once we had that under control, it was only a matter of making sure infection didn’t set in. Luckily,” she opened one of the jars she had produced from the bag, exposing what looked to be a natural salve, “the Abydonians have some really good medicine we were able to use after we exhausted our supply.” She looked up from where she had scooped up some of the salve onto her fingers, glancing at Daniel with an apologetic look in her eyes. “This might hurt a bit.”

At first the coolness of the paste was almost refreshing, but as Sam continued to rub it onto his wound and it started to do its work, a burning sensation permeated through his side, making him recoil and tense up in pain. His teeth clenched, head digging into the jacket beneath him, a prolonged groan, almost a growl, escaped his lips and he suddenly found his hand being squeezed by Jack’s. He squeezed it in return, grateful for the small outlet for his pain.

Sam winced sympathetically. “Sorry,” she offered, changing out the gauze for the new bandages she had brought.

“It’s…it’s alright,” he said after catching his breath, panting slightly. “Yeah, these people really know their stuff.”

“You get some rest now,” Jack ordered, still holding onto his hand. “SG-7 is coming in the morning to help transport you home. I want you well rested when they get here.”

Daniel nodded, already feeling the tug of sleep. “Yes, sir.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originaly posted to tumblr, for Winter Whumperland. And, more specifically, @that-hurts. Here’s the fic! I don't think they have an account here, but I'll post it here anyway.  
> My grandma had a stroke on Christmas Day, and I wasn’t finished. So these 2 awesome people, Arlothia and Lilynette, took my idea and changed it a bit and made it better than I ever could have. I can’t thank them enough.  
> I hope you liked the story!


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